You can update the photo in your LDS.org directory profile either from LDS.org or from LDS Tools for iPhone. Having an up-to-date directory photo helps others in your ward and stake recognize you, and when others upload their photos, you can better recognize them. Adding photos to profiles helps convert lists of names to real people and has the potential to make your ward and stake a friendlier place.

Follow these four steps to update your directory photo:

Take your photo

Upload your photo

Get the uploaded photo approved

Make sure your profile is visible

Note: To encourage members to update their photos, you can download and print the following quick reference guide. The one-page guide is an extract from the more detailed information in this article.

Step 1. Take your photo

You can upload an overall household photo as well as an individual photo for each household member.

Photo sizes

Any photo you upload will be re-sized to a maximum of 500px wide by 375px tall (it only expands to this size when clicked). The individual photos appear in various sizes depending on where you view them in the directory (200x150px, 120x90px, or 40x40px), but in general, it's better to have the photo be too large than too small. Let the directory's image resizer downsize the photo to the best dimensions. (The photos are never enlarged by the image resizer, only reduced.)

If you’re uploading via iPhone, you can use the built-in camera on your iPhone to take the photo. If you have a digital photo on your computer that you want to upload, you can use that too.

Photo requirements

Make sure all photos meet the following requirements:

You have the right to display the photo. Verify no copyright infringement, especially regarding professional studio photographs.

The photo does not display trademarks or the intellectual property of others. The photo should not appear to promote products or services nor should it display registered marks.

All individuals in the photo have given their consent to its posting. If an individual is a minor, the minor's parent or legal guardian must grant consent.

The photo complies with Church standards. The photo does not express opinions, make political statements and is in compliance with Church standards including modesty and honesty.

The photo accurately depicts you and/or your family. The photo should not be modified to alter individual appearance, should not impersonate others, be a caricature, and so forth.

Step 2. Upload your photo

You can upload your photo through LDSTools on your iPhone, or through LDS.org.

Upload from LDSTools for iPhone

On your iPhone, start LDS Tools and tap the Directory button.

Browse to your household.

Tap your photo.

Tap the camera button in the upper-left of your photo.

Select one of the following options: Use Camera, Photo Library, Saved Photos.

If you took a picture with your camera, tap Use.

When prompted to upload the image to the online directory, tap Yes. The image uploads to the LDS.org directory.

In Settings, you can select that photos be automatically uploaded to the online directory. To set automatic uploading, tp the Settings button in the upper-right corner. Scroll down to Changing Photos Online and move the slider to Yes.

Upload through LDS.org

On LDS.org, go to Tools > Directory.

In the left sidebar, click My Household.

Click Edit.

In the place you would like to add a photo, click Add a photo. If you already added a photo and want to change it, click Change.

Read and agree to the Upload Guideline by clicking Continue.

Click Select Photo.

Using the browsing window, select the photo you want to upload, and click Open.

Click Upload Now. The file will upload. When the upload is complete, a green circle appears to the right of the file name.

Click Done. Only you will be able to see your photo until an administrator approves it.

Click on the photo to view it.

Step 3. Get the uploaded photo approved

After you upload your picture to the directory, an administrator needs to approve your photo before it will be displayed to the members in your unit. This ensures appropriateness of the photos that are uploaded.

Note that currently there's no way to tell if your photo has been approved by an administrator (other than by logging in as someone outside your household). If other people are unable to view your photo, it is likely that it hasn't been approved. (An upcoming release of the Directory will add a watermark on photos not yet approved, so that you can know whether they have been approved or not.)

Directory administrators for the ward include the bishopric, executive secretary, all clerks, and website administrator.

If you are an administrator, you can approve a new photo by doing the following:

On LDS.org, go to Tools > Directory.

In the left sidebar, click New Photos. This section shows all photos that have been uploaded but not yet approved.

Verify that the photos match the member names.

Click the green check mark next to the photo.

The photo is approved and disappears from the list of New Photos.

Step 4: Make sure your profile is visible

You can set privacy levels for a variety of elements of your Directory profile. These privacy settings determine who can see your household information.

The default profile visibility differs by country. In the U.S. and Canada, for example, profiles are visible to other ward and stake members by default, and you can make your profile private if you desire.

However, other countries have stricter data privacy laws, such as countries in the European Union. In these countries, directory profiles are private by default, and you can make your profile visible to the ward or stake if you desire.

Set privacy levels for individual photos

To ensure others in your ward or stake can see your photo, do the following:

In the directory, click My Household in the left column.

Click the Edit tab at the top of your household profile.

Click the Edit link next to your uploaded photos.

Select one of the following options:

Ward: Administrators and ward members can see the information.

Stake: Administrators, ward members, and stake members can see the information.

Click Save.

Set the Household Visibility Limit

In addition to privacy controls for each element in your profile, there’s also a Household Visibility Limit setting. This setting limits the maximum individual settings. No household members can have more visible permissions than the Household Visibility Limit.

For example, if your set your individual photo visibility settings to Ward or Stake, but your Household Visibility Limit is set to private, your photos will be private because the Household Visibility Limit defines the maximum visibility for any household information.

To change your Household Visibility Limit:

In the directory, click My Household in the left column.

Click the Edit tab at the top of your household profile.

Next to Household Visibility Limit, click Edit.

Select Ward or Stake.

Click Save.

Print a photo directory

Once you have all the photos uploaded, you can print a photo directory.

In the Directory, click Photos.

Click Print.

Select the printing options.

Click Open PDF or Save PDF. (If you click Open PDF, you can then save the PDF that opens.)

If the PDF is formatted as you want it, click Print.

If you have questions or problems in managing your directory profiles, see the LDSTech Forum.

Comments

My individual photo appears on the online directory, where I originally uploaded it but not in my LDSTools app on my iPad. The family picture appears both online and on the iPad. Is there a reason for this? I am signed in as myself in both places. Does it still have to do with being approved, or did I miss something? Thanks.

Mary Lynn, thanks for emphasizing this point. I think this is especially true for countries outside the U.S. and Canada, but also an important element within the U.S. and Canada as well. It's best for members to upload their own photos. This way we ensure no one uploads a photo that would upset a member. It also show members that they have control to update their online information.

You article about "how to update your LDS.org directory photo seems quite outdated. I've tried in vain to follow the direction given, but the website must have changed and what originally wrote is no longer correct. Specifically, in the section giving direction about how to upload the photo on LDS.org, you say "on lds.org, go to Tools > Directory.In the left sidebar, click New Photos." but when I go to LDS.org, there is no option to select tools or directory. When I go into my account I have the same result; no tools or directory listing. Please update the information and when completed, please send me an e-mail with the updated information to: rballstaedt@gmail.com. Thank you.

When I loaded my pics several years ago, it posted them automatically. There was no place to ask permission. Also, the whole format has changed on LDS.org and I can't see any way to post pics from my computer. Does anyone know how to do this? There is no longer a "Tools" category.

Kurt, if you're a directory administrator, you should see a sidebar option called Upload Photos. This allows directory admins to upload photos on behalf of members. Make sure you have informed, voluntary consent from any person whose photo you upload. With photos of minors, you will also need their parent's consent.

Kurt, if you're a directory administrator, you should see a sidebar option called Upload Photos. This allows directory admins to upload photos on behalf of members. Make sure you have informed, voluntary consent from any person whose photo you upload. With photos of minors, you will also need their parent's consent.

I am not currently seeing the menu for approving photos when our Ward Website Admin's are logged in. Another thread states this is an issue that is in the process of resolution, but gives no timeline. Any timeline for completion? Our stake president is eager to get photos added and wants people called to do so. If they are called as clerks, that would include sisters and give many people access to a lot of confidential information, so Ward Website specialist would be the best choice, if photos could be edited / approved by them.

Benson, the next version of the Android app has that capability. You can download the current build from http://www.ldsmobiletester.com/android/. The latest build is pre-release software, so be aware that there may be things that don't function correctly. You will need to allow installation of non-Market applications to install the software.

What browsers are supported in this photo posting procedure? I attempted this with Firefox and a message was displayed that it wasn't currently supported. Is Internet Explorer the only browser currently supported via the lds.org portal?

Hiya, if anyone wants or needs a Mexican Spanish version of the instructions in this posting we´ve made one. Unfortunately I don't know yet how to place it in the wiki so I think Tom will need to upload it or mail me at daniel dot spice4dan at gmail dot comP.s. quick guide pending, maybe tomorrow

Thanks Daniel. I added a link to the Spanish translation at the bottom of article. Thanks for doing that. By the way, we are in the process of translating the help material for calendar, directory, and other lds.org apps. It's been slow in coming, but we'll get there.

Yes the same issues. in chrome the continue button is missing. the box doesn't expand to see entire policy and no side bars to scroll down. Very Frustrating. I doubt anyone uses internet explorer anymore

Yes the same issues. in chrome the continue button is missing. the box doesn't expand to see entire policy and no side bars to scroll down. Very Frustrating. I doubt anyone uses internet explorer anymore

Press CTRL-0. That will set your "zoom" in chrome to "none" and the button will show up again.

The article said "directory administrators for the ward include the bishopric, executive secretary, all clerks, and website administrator." I was called as Website and Media specialist so that I could do the directory but this is not giving me the option on the left hand sign to upload and approve photos.

I was a Ward membership clerk in a YSA ward in Provo. I'm currently the Stake Clerk assistant and I have been having some problems with Printing the PDF photo directory like Rich Barker. Directories are necessary. Also, is it possible to add the option to organize ward members alphabetically and by address number? A lot of singles wards use third party programs to make their own directory so roommates can be grouped together.

I am the second counselor in the bishopric of a student ward. I used to be able to print the PDF photo directory of my constantly changing ward membership. I cannot do this from the directory on LDS.org. No pictures are seen either on my iPhone using LDS Tools. I need this capacity to identify new members in my ward that seem to appear weekly.

I am a Stake Leader and can print a photo directory from my own ward, but not of any other ward (With the photos) It would be very helpful to get to know the other ward members by being able to see pictures with names. I can view the pics from lds.org and on my phone, but not when I print the directory? Any tricks?

Since last week I have been having problems uploading photos to the ward directory. It lets me in as well as upload them, but after uploading them it doesn't display them. After approving photos for ward members the same photos also show up again as though they were never approved. Not sure what is going on but I have tried doing this over a period of two weeks now using several different computers. There must be some server side glitch. Will continue to try uploading photos some time next month and hopefully it will work better. Went back online and it started working after several hours. Seems to be working much slower these last two weeks. Looks like I just need to wait about half an hour for every change to be in effect.

Cant upload or change a photo. I get a error message explaining that Firefox is not supported for photo uploads yet. But I am using IE11. Help.

That appears to be the default error message - ignore the bit about Firefox. First try switching to a different browser. If you still have the same problem, try using a photo that is not as large (i.e. lower resolution). If neither of the above options work, it often means that there is a plug-in or add-on interfering with the upload - even some anti-virus programs can interfere with it. Try disabling those just while you are uploading. If all else fails, send the photo to your ward clerk, who should be able to upload it for you.

I am the website admin for our Ward. I signed in to check something else, and stumbled upon my family photos. The photos were old, and I attempted to update. The photo was uploaded, but it displaying the picture upside down, is there a way to correct this?

Every time I try to upload my family's photo onto my account it just says it can't be added at this time because there was a problem. I've tried it on my phone and computer, multiple times, different days, and different pictures. It won't ever upload a picture.

Every time I try to upload my family's photo onto my account it just says it can't be added at this time because there was a problem. I've tried it on my phone and computer, multiple times, different days, and different pictures. It won't ever upload a picture.

I am having the exact same problem. I can't load any of my pictures. Gives me the exact same error.

I am having the same problem- but it is happening on family members that when I first tried to upload a photo, I think it was cropped too large. On other family members it works fine. Is there a way to reset? I have tried several times over the last few weeks, and keep getting the same message.

Best way around any problems you may experience is to use ldstools to upload your photos instead, or ask someone with ldstools on their phone to let you login and upload your photos. It's much more reliable

When I try to print a roster of just our relief society there are several individual pictures who don't show up on the print out. They show up under individual photo on the app and on the site, but not when I print it. Any idea why?

I am serving in a YSA ward, we need the ability to produce a ward directory showing all people in one apartment . Is that possible? I have 192 single adults and I need the facial and name recognition associated with apartment mates.

32 rooms and 192 different pages not too easy to manage. Would be great if there were 32 different apartments, with six people per room.

Please be sure to do the following:1. Sign in to LDS.org.2. Click on My Account and Ward.3. From the drop down menu choose Directory.4. Go to your household's page.5. Choose Edit at the top of your page.6. Under each photo spot should be the word Edit. Click on it.

Has the system been down recently? I've tried on Chrome and Safari to change my photo on two different days, but when I click 'upload', I keep getting the error "There was a problem with your upload. Please try again later." Any ideas?

I'm having the same problem Braden. Have been trying for weeks! Always had the Problem with the Upload, and to try again later. So frustrating. We are in a brand new ward. Everyone was asked to put in pictures, and we just can't!

WE had a ward loose all their photos, except for 11 household photos. One was our stake president. He lost the household and individual photos for his wife and him.I being told that the Ward's membership Clerk can't approve the photo online.I'm having the same problem. I have callings of: Stake Asst Clerk, Stake Website Admin, Ward Website Admin. I can no longer edit any photo and I can't seem the modify any profile data either, except for my own. I've looked at the help area and the release notes are very old. They don't reflect the changes made to the Upload Photo area. Nor do other documents in the help area. I can't seem to modify or add any photos or profile information in the LCR membership area either. I can modify callings though.

I have been updating our family photos. I have used Explorer and Google browsers with same result. After I upload photos, they are shows with APPROVAL PENDING. When I go check an hour later all the photos are gone except the family photo which is still PENDING for 3 weeks.What am I doing wrong? Please help.Also, technical note: Please post the suggested resolution as part of the popup. All cameras are >1megpix now.